hakspek

2 definitions found

hakspek - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  hakspek
  
     <jargon> /hak'speek/ A shorthand method of spelling found on
     many British academic bulletin boards and chat systems.
     Syllables and whole words in a sentence are replaced by single
     ASCII characters the names of which are phonetically similar
     or equivalent, while multiple letters are usually dropped.
     Hence, "for" becomes "4"; "two", "too", and "to" become "2";
     "ck" becomes "k".  "Before I see you tomorrow" becomes "b4 i c
     u 2moro".  First appeared in London about 1986, and was
     probably caused by the slowness of available talk systems,
     which operated on archaic machines with outdated operating systems
      and no standard methods of communication.  Has become
     rarer since.
  
     See also chat, B1FF, ASCIIbonics.
  
     [Jargon File]
  
     (1998-01-25)
  

hakspek - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  hakspek
   /hak'speek/, n.
  
     A shorthand method of spelling found on many British academic
  bulletin
     boards and talker systems. Syllables and whole words in a sentence
     are replaced by single ASCII characters the names of which are
     phonetically similar or equivalent, while multiple letters are
  usually
     dropped. Hence, `for' becomes `4'; `two', `too', and `to' become `2';
     `ck' becomes `k'. "Before I see you tomorrow" becomes "b4 i c u
     2moro". First appeared in London about 1986, and was probably caused
     by the slowness of available talker systems, which operated on
  archaic
     machines with outdated operating systems and no standard methods of
     communication.
  
     Hakspek almost disappeared after the great bandwidth explosion of the
     early 1990s, as fast Internet links wiped out the old-style talker
     systems. However, it has enjoyed a revival in another medium -- the
     Short Message Service (SMS) associated with GSM cellphones. SMS sends
     are limited to a maximum of 160 characters, and typing on a cellphone
     keypad is difficult and slow anyway. There are now even published
     paper dictionaries for SMS users to help them do hakspek-to-English
     and vice-versa.
  
     See also talk mode.